MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th March, 2021) The Democratic Republic of the Congo has put off the start of the vaccination campaign against the coronavirus after several European countries halted the use of the AstraZeneca shot.
The impoverished central African was to start vaccinations on Monday after receiving 1.7 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine through UN's shot-sharing mechanism.
A health ministry official told the 7sur7 news channel on Friday that the rollout was paused as a precaution, pending inquiries into suspected severe side effects of the UK-Swedish drug.
Austria was the first to stop using shots from a specific batch after a vaccinated woman died and another one was hospitalized after developing blood clots. The World Health Organization said there was no proof that the vaccine was causing the potentially fatal condition.
